Better than Disney
by emeraldeyedirishdaughter
Summary: In an Alternate Universe, John Smith tells his children a bedtime story


_**Author Notes: For my beautiful friend mrs_roy. She asked me to write her some Alternate Universe John and Rose with children last year and like usual I got stuck into it, wrote about 1000 words and then got distracted. So I thought I ought to get it finished and here it is, ready in time for her birthday. Hope you enjoy it honey. To everyone else, please don't forget your toothbrush. This is pure fluff and very sweet and I confess that writing Penelope (aged 7/8) and Joseph (3) was way more fun than it should have been. LOL! Dislaimer: Doctor Who and any subsequent characters are owned by the BBC and sadly not by me nor do I hold any right to anything Disney. I make no money from writing fic, just pure pleasure at entertaining you all.**_

"Joseph Smith, give me back my book NOW!"

"No, Penpee. Want Dadda to read Peter Pan," came a muffled retort from somewhere under the makeshift play tent.

"But he read you that one last night," whined his sister in frustration.

Her brother popped up from his hiding place before pushing his mop of curly brown hair out of his eyes.

"Don't care. Cinarella yucky."

"She is not," said Penelope indignantly. "She's beautiful and good and I'm going to be just like her when I grow up."

"You can't, you no pwincess, you just Penpee."

"Urgh, what would you know?" she said in disgust. "Mummy says I can be whatever I want to be when I'm older. Now are you going to give me my book back or not?"

Joseph, less than impressed by his older sister, refused to be intimidated by her bossiness.

"No I not. Hid it," he finished gleefully. "You play hide seek wit' me?"

Penelope however was in no mood for her little brother's games. Only one way to get this sorted …

"DAAAAAAADDY!

Down the hallway in the kitchen, this untimely interruption was not going over well. John had been working long hours of late and this was the first evening in the past seven days that they had all been able to have dinner together as a family.

After dinner Penelope and Joseph had gone to play in their room while he and Rose cleaned up. Enjoying their moment alone Rose had playfully splashed her husband with water. He had retaliated by flicking her bottom with the tea towel and suggesting something completely inappropriate. Rose took his offer literally and soon they were kissing quite heatedly.

As Penelope yelled again, John groaned against his wife's lips.

"Well, at least we know she has very healthy lungs," giggled Rose.

"If we're really, really quiet, do you think she'll stop and go do something else?" he whispered hopefully.

Rose laughed. "Not a chance, I'm afraid. Go on Daddy dearest, your daughter needs you."

He stepped back but not before running his hands down over his wife's clothed form, his touch making her gasp as he caressed certain sensitive areas.

"We're not done," he promised, giving her one long final kiss before leaving the room in search of his children.

He found them just as Penelope was about to call for him again. Joseph was nowhere in sight but noises coming from under the bed let John know where he was.

"Daddy?"

John looked into the brown eyes of his daughter and smiled at the determination and life sparking within. No one could deny whom Penelope looked like. She was every inch a miniature version of her mother. The male population would be in trouble when his little girl grew up.

Penelope could see her father's attention wavering again and stamped her foot in frustration.

"Daddy, you're not listening," she whined.

Immediately he turned his focus back to the present and apologised.

"Sorry, honey. You know me and how distracted I get sometimes."

"Well, pay attention, okay? This is important. It could affect my whole life."

John nearly broke down in laughter at her exaggeration but he managed to control his emotions and ask his next question.

"Well then, we had better sort it out. What's the problem sweetheart?"

Before his sister could answer Joseph climbed out of his hiding space and answered for her.

"I telled her she couldna be a pwincess, Dadda."

"Ah, I see. Okay you two come here," he beckoned and patted his lap at the same time.

Eventually the two of them were seated with their father's arms wrapped around them both.

"Now how did this all start?" It was obviously the wrong question to ask because immediately both of his children began to speak at once.

"Okay, Okay, hush now. Penelope, you go first and then Joseph, you next."

"Joseph hid my Cinderella book. He said he didn't want you to read it to me tonight because he wanted Peter Pan again but that's not fair is it?"

"Well, no …"

But his daughter had not yet finished. She was determined to have her say before her brother could contradict her in any way.

"Then he said Cinderella was yucky and I couldn't be a princess which is wrong because mummy said I could and she's always right isn't she Daddy?"

At this last comment John heard a soft giggle from just outside the bedroom door and realised that Rose had heard every word of their daughter's outburst. It also meant he was going to have to be very diplomatic in his answer.

"Yes, well your mother is usually right about such matters. Be good, love life, work hard and use your brains and you never know what might happen. If you become a princess then you'll be a great ruler but if you change your mind, well you could do anything."

"She can't be a piwate Daddy, cause only boys do that," chimed in Joseph.

"Can too," retorted Penelope and before he knew it John had world war three erupting on his lap.

It was at this point that Rose decided to make her presence known to her children by stepping inside the room.

"Joseph, Penelope, enough. No more or there will be no story tonight."

Her threat defused the situation but only for a few moments.

"I want to hear Cinderella tonight, not stupid Peter Pan," whinged Penelope.

"Peter Pan not stoopid," said Joseph as he tried to defend his favourite story. "It funny, got piwates an' cwocodiles and lotsa other stuff." He regarded his sister before continuing in a supposedly superior tone of voice. "Girl's not unnerstand 'cause girls stoopid."

John took one look at Penelope's face and stepped in before his daughter could reply.

"Right, you two, that's enough! Cinderella and Peter Pan are both great books. Joseph remember how you laughed at the pumpkin and the mice being changed into the coach and horses?" His son did not answer but nodded his head. "Penelope you liked Wendy and the mermaids in Peter Pan, didn't you?"

After a short pause his daughter also nodded. "Yes Daddy, I do."

"Good, that's very good. Now I think you both ought to apologise to each other, don't you?" he encouraged.

It took a moment or two but eventually Penelope gave her a brother a big hug. "I'm sorry, Joseph. Peter Pan is pretty good."

"It okay, Penpee. I sorry 'bout what I sayed 'bout Cinerella too."

During her children's reconciliation, Rose had moved from the door to sit next to her husband.

"I think instead of one of your books tonight how about Daddy tells you a story?"

"Me," squeaked her husband.

"Yay, Dadda, tell stowy please."

"Oh yes, please Daddy but since it's my turn tonight and we can't have Cinderella can you have a princess in your story?" pleaded Penelope.

Looking at his children's hopeful faces John could not help but agree.

"Well," he started, looking lovingly across at Rose. "Would you like me to tell you about the day I met a princess?"

The positive shouts from both his children was all the encouragement John needed. Settling them comfortably in his lap he began the tale.

"Penelope, do you remember when we all went to Disneyland in Paris, a couple of years ago?"

"I do," piped up Joseph before his sister could answer.

"You do not," countered his sister. "I remember, Daddy. Joseph was just a baby though …"

"I not a baby. You a baby, Penpee."

John intervened before they could start their arguments afresh. "Okay, you two enough," he said. Recognising the warning tone in their father's voice both children stopped their bickering and quietly waited for him to continue with the story.

"You know how Daddy works at Oxford University?"

He smiled as two little heads nodded.

"Well, ten years ago I didn't. I was teaching at a school for boys in Paris. I hadn't seen much of the city so when vacation time for the students came around I decided I'd use the holidays to explore my surroundings and some of its attractions. That's how I ended up at Disneyland Paris one day."

"Where was Mummy?" demanded Penelope suddenly.

"I hadn't met your mother yet, sweetheart. I was all on my own," he replied softly.

Older, sadder memories of events long past flooded through his mind as he answered his daughter. Just as quickly though he sent them packing. Hugging his children John forged ahead with his tale.

"Disneyland was magical and I walked around all day taking in the wonderful sights. I ate ice cream, got lost in the Alice in Wonderland maze and went flying with Peter Pan." He laughed. "Got given a few odd looks from other adults for that one. Not my fault I didn't have any kids at the time."

At the mention of his favourite book Joseph pulled on his father's shirt.

"I wanna go fly wif Peter Pan too, Dadda."

John ruffled his little son's hair. "You'll get your chance, my little pirate. I'm sure we'll all go back at some point."

"Me, too, Daddy," broke in his daughter.

"Yes, you too. Now where was I?"

"Peter Pan, Dadda," supplied Joseph helpfully.

"Oh yes, that's right. After Peter Pan I went over to Frontierland and had a cruise on the Paddle steamer. I even had some fun in the Pocahontas Indian Village before they told me to leave because I got caught up in a tepee and knocked down half a dozen others."

Rose giggled at the images that her husband had just presented. "It never occurred to you that the tepees were for the children to play in?"

"Well, I'm a child at heart," he retorted. "Does that count?"

"Yes, love. It counts. It's part of who you are and I wouldn't change it. Not for the world," replied Rose lovingly.

He could not help himself. With careful movement so as not to unbalance the two on his lap he leaned sideways to give Rose a kiss.

At once there was a hue and cry from his lap and words to the effect of 'Ewww yuck' came from one of his children though given that his mind was temporarily elsewhere he could not say for certain which.

With a soft snicker Rose reminded him to focus back on Joseph and Penelope.

"So, I left Frontierland but I didn't have any ideas about where to go next. I wandered around for a while until I found myself in Discoveryland and that's when I saw it."

"Saw what Daddy?"

"The Space Mission Two ride, love. I could feel it drawing me in. G Forces, warp speed cannons and black holes and …"

"John!"

He turned his face towards his wife who in turn gestured to the blank looks on his children's faces.

"Oh, right, yes, silly Daddy. Too used to talking to my fourth year physics and astronomy students. They're used to all the scientific mumbo jumbo though I'm sure I could come up with an explanation that younger scholars might understand but anyway," he paused, mostly so he could draw breath, "the point is, children, that it looked like fun."

His daughter turned her serious little face upon him. "Now why didn't you just say that in the first place, Daddy? You're not very good at story telling," she finished huffily but was quickly repentant with her next statement. "Still, suppose you have to start somewhere so I'll forgive you."

Rose let out a snort of laughter which she then tried to attempt to cover up with a fit of coughing. John made a mental note to pay his wife back for that later in the sweetest possible way. However his son's tugging of his shirt and pleas to go on with the story quickly returned his focus to the job at hand.

"So there I was lining up for the ride when I couldn't help but notice that the lady in front of me was trembling and when she turned sideways for one moment I could see she was definitely scared. She was very pretty and I felt sorry for her so I asked if she was okay."

"Aw, proor lady," said Joseph in childish sympathy.

"What did she say, Daddy? Was she the princess?"

"No, I didn't know she was a princess then. I don't think she even realised she was one at that point. She told me a few things about herself, how she left London to come to Paris, to perhaps find her true self here."

"I don't understand, Daddy?" said his daughter frowning heavily. "Why would she have to find her true self? Was she lost?"

"No, sweetheart. Her life, she said, had been pretty boring. Everyday she worked in a shop, ate chips and went home. She told me she wanted to get away to find out what else life could hold for her so she took all her savings and came here to Paris. It was fun at first she told me but eventually her money was running out so she was forced to look for a job. Disneyland had always been a magical dream for her so she had come there that very day and as luck would have it she did get hired."

"Well I'm sure they recognised how brilliant the young lady was," teased Rose in a cheeky tone.

"Oh, yes," agreed her husband, his love for Rose etched over every inch of his face. "She is most definitely, positively and absolutely brilliant but as I said earlier, at this point in the story she was just plain scared. She told me that she wasn't due to start her job for a couple of days so intended to enjoy the wonder of Disneyland and face up to a few other things that frightened her. She had always been afraid of fast rides since she was a little girl but since today was all about brand new starts, she was determined to conquer her fear. Life now was going to be an adventure and she wanted to prove to herself that she could handle it. Unfortunately though she still felt terrified."

"I woodn't be scared, Dadda," piped up Joseph courageously. "I's be big and bwave like you."

Warmth rushed through John at his son's words and once again he was thankful for the blessings that had been bestowed on him these past years.

"Oh, yes I was brave," he laughed as he noticed his wife rolling her eyes at him. "I asked the lady her name and she told me it was Rose."

"But that's Mummy's name," broke in Penelope excitedly.

"So it is. How about that? Well I then asked Rose if I might accompany her onto the ride through space"

"What's accomyknee mean, Mumma?"

"He means that he asked the lady if he could sit with her on the ride so they both wouldn't be scared. Isn't that right, honey?" she finished, cheekily directing her last words to her husband.

"Oh, yes … hang on I mean no." He glared at her as she smirked back at him. "I wasn't scared. Just Rose. Anyway the point is that she said 'yes' and we got on the ride and had a brilliant adventure. We screamed and laughed ourselves silly throughout the whole thing. We had so much fun we decided to stay together and try out other rides. Some Rose chose, others I did but it turned out that we enjoyed each other's company so I went back and met her there the next day and we did it all over again."

"She sounds nice, Daddy," chimed in Penelope. "What happened then?"

"Rose had to start work the next day so I bought a season pass to Disneyland and everyday during my short holiday I would go meet her after work. We'd go on the rides or sometimes we would just walk around eating ice-cream. Other times we would stroll around parts of Paris, taking in the beauty of the city. Very soon we realised that we liked each other very much. We were 'special' to each other.

"And that's when she told you she was a princess?"

"No, not then but I'm getting to it. Something sad had to happen first."

"I no like sad fings," quibbled Joseph as he burrowed himself into his father's side.

John tightened his arm around his son a little more. "Don't worry. It's only sad for a little bit but then it gets better. Just like the fairy tales you and Penelope love."

After a small nod of agreement from his son, John continued. "You might recall at the start of the story I said that I was in Paris during vacation. Time passed so quickly while Rose and I were together and all too soon I had to go back to teaching. We promised to see each other as often as we could which meant two or three days a week I'd pick her up after work and we'd go out to dinner or if she had a day off we would spend it with each other. It wasn't the same as seeing her every day but we made do. We were very happy but one day it all changed."

John paused for a moment remembering the painful emotions he had felt all those years ago when the events he was about to relate happened.

"The owners of the school that I worked for in Paris always praised me for being a good teacher. I told them that I hoped I was because one day I wanted to be worthy of teaching at Oxford. You both know that I got my wish but back then it was only a dream. They told me about this new school that was opening in London and without my knowledge they had recommended me for Head Schoolmaster. This was a job that I longed for of course. It meant a much higher position of authority and better pay but most of all it would bring me closer to my dream of becoming a professor at Oxford. There was only one problem. I had to leave Rose," he finished off sadly.

Little hands crept up around his neck. "I'm sorry, Daddy," uttered his daughter softly. "I remember when we moved and I had to change schools two years ago how sad I was to leave all my friends behind. It must have been hard for you too."

It was impossible for John not to tear up a little at his daughter's compassionate gesture. One glance at Rose confirmed that she was feeling the same as she wiped a couple of drops from her eyes.

"Thank you, Penelope, honey. Yes it was hard. You see when I said Rose and I were 'special' earlier I meant we loved each other but we were too afraid to say it. I wanted to tell Rose but she wouldn't let me, especially now that I had to go away. But we promised each other that we'd write and whenever I could I would try to come to Paris for the weekend. It worked well for awhile but I got very busy at the school and Rose got promoted and was working longer hours. Sometimes weeks would go by and we never saw each other and our letters became less frequent. My heart grew sad and I missed her very much."

"Dadda, this too sad, when you get to happy part," complained Joseph.

"Soon, son. Very soon. I promise. You see another set of school holidays rolled around. Unfortunately I fell ill with a serious fever that sadly meant cancellation of all my plans. Another few months went by and we saw each other even less. This time when the holidays came I was determined that nothing was going to stop me from going to Paris to see Rose and if I had my way convince her to come back with me to London. So I made plans and one bright day I crossed the English Channel and booked myself into the hotel where I had stayed many months ago. The next morning I went straight to Disneyland. I hadn't told Rose I was coming because I wanted to surprise her."

"Ooh, I love surprises, piped up Penelope.

"Me, too," agreed Joseph.

"Me three," giggled Rose.

John looked at his family and laughed heartily. It felt good after the sadness of the most recent part of his story and the best was yet to come. When all the mirth had died down he started to talk again.

"I had intended to go straight to the park first thing in the morning but I must have been more tired than I thought because when I woke up it was after half past ten. Quickly I got dressed but by the time I got there it was almost twelve o'clock which turned out to be just in time for their midday street parade. I was about to head to the place where I knew she was working last when one of the fairytale floats caught my eye. It was from the story of Sleeping Beauty and the person playing the part of Princess Aurora was none other but my Rose."

"Sleeping Beauty, I love that story," squealed his daughter excitedly. "Did she have the pink or blue gown on?"

John had no trouble remembering. Even to this day he could still see her. "It was a bit of both, like the three good fairies were still fighting about it. She looked very beautiful though. I wanted to go to her right away but I didn't because she might get into trouble. Instead I waited until the parade was over and a few of the characters came to say hello. And then …" he said as he watched his wife's face blush red, "I went up to her and kissed her in front of everyone."

"What happened then?" enquired Penelope.

"Well, she kissed me back."

"And then?"

"Erm, we kissed some more?"

"Is that it? You just kissed."

"Well isn't that how most of the princess fairy tales end; with a kiss," protested John who by now was busy trying to find a way out of this conversation.

"Hmm, I guess so," said his daughter capitulating … or so he thought. Moments later she frowned and spoke again. "But princesses in those stories got rescued from dragons and wicked witches. What did you rescue Rose from?"

"I rescued her from a man dressed as Aladdin once. He was giving her a hard time."

"Probably wanted her to go home and polish his lamp," added Rose, her face a picture of innocence.

John nearly fell over his own lip before realising that his jaw was hanging wide open. Recovering quickly he threw back his own retort. "Well, children, I did do battle with her mother once. She was quite the dragon."

Rose giggled loudly. "Touché dearest."

Both had forgotten their two inquisitive and slightly confused offspring until Joseph enquired what 'tooshay' meant.

"I'll tell you another time, son," chuckled John. "Anyway to finish off our story Rose did decide to come back to London with me and everything was happy."

"But Dadda, how can everyfing be happy. You not marry a pwincess. You marry Mumma," enquired a mortified Joseph.

"Ah, well now," broke in Rose. "Give me a few minutes and I'll answer your question." With that she left the room.

"What's mummy doing?" asked Penelope.

John smiled down at his daughter. "Just wait and see. It's another surprise."

Ten minutes later Rose entered the room again but instead of her everyday clothes she now wore a ball gown that was half pink and half blue. She had pinned her hair into a quick stylish updo topped off with a tiny fake gem tiara.

"Doesn't quite fit like it did back then," she said with a grimace, "but I've had two children since then."

"Mumma, you look bootiful," exclaimed a wide eyed Joseph but it was Penelope who was the most impressed. "The Rose in the story was you all along, wasn't it Mummy?"

"Yes, sweetheart. It was me."

Penelope then turned to her brother. "See Joseph I told you. Mummy was a princess and so can I when I grow up."

"Maybee but for now you still just Penpee," he retorted cheekily.

Before another argument could break out, John caught their attention. "So you see children. Princess Rose and I love each other very much and things worked out well in the end even after the sad parts."

"Like they say in the books, Daddy; they lived happily ever after."

"Indeed they do, Penelope. Indeed they do."

Some time later after they had put their two sleepy children to bed, John took Rose's hand and led her to their own bedroom. She was still wearing the ball gown and as he kissed her passionately his hands slowly undid the Velcro strips that held the costume together

As the gown fell to the floor he whispered. "You'll always be a princess in my heart and this, my love, is our happily ever after."


End file.
